[OPLINTECH] RAID 5 vs. RAID 10 on a file server

[Jim Lack]

Thanks Jessica.  I guess I'm at the other end of the spectrum.  All our servers have RAID 5 setups and I've never come across an issue of having downtime.  Sure, I've had drives go bad but the systems keep plugging away until I get a replacement drive in.  I just don't know if there is a huge benefit if I move to RAID 10.  Thanks for your input!!

From: Jessica D. Dooley [mailto:dooleyje at adamscolibrary.org]
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2015 11:01 AM
To: Jim Lack
Subject: RE: [OPLINTECH] RAID 5 vs. RAID 10 on a file server

Hi Jim,

I can't speak to the reputed performance benefits of RAID 10, since I've never used it, but I have four servers, including two domain controllers, running RAID 5, and I would never choose that configuration again. I have a virtual host and NAS box running multiple instances of RAID 1, but not configured for striping. RAID 1 with a hot spare would be my configuration of choice in the future. The servers configured with RAID 5 have failed on more than one occasion; even with backups, it's a significant interruption. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has committed a large environment to RAID 10, and has seen noticeable performance benefits. Our domain controllers and member servers also double as file storage, with DFS replication configured. I'd downvote RAID 5 on reliability alone - fwiw.

Thanks,

Jessica D. Dooley
IT Specialist
Adams County Public Library
937-587-2085
dooleyje at adamscolibrary.org<mailto:dooleyje at adamscolibrary.org>

From: Jim Lack [mailto:J.Lack at rrpl.org]
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2015 10:43 AM
To: oplintech at lists.oplin.org<mailto:oplintech at lists.oplin.org>
Subject: [OPLINTECH] RAID 5 vs. RAID 10 on a file server

I need to replace my current domain controller with a new server.  The server also acts as our main file server.  Our current server is set up with two drives, configured in a RAID one setup which houses just the OS (Windows Server 2008).  We have three additional drives set up with RAID 5 which houses all of our user files.  We also have an additional drive as a global hot spare.

I'm wrestling with the option of using RAID 10 on our new server (someone suggested it).  Do I sacrifice a couple of drives in RAID 10 for performance or should I just stick with the RAID 1 (OS) and RAID 5 configuration?  I'm just wondering if there will be a big benefit going with RAID 10.  There's a lot of smart people on this list and I value your opinions.  Let me know your thoughts

Thank You,

Jim Lack
Technology Support Manager
Rocky River Public Library
1600 Hampton Rd.
Rocky River, OH  44116
440-895-3765

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